Swans on Tea

I linked to a gravitational redshift experiment that was recently published, and have had a chance to read the paper. It’s quite cool. I had been dismayed at the first couple of popular summaries, but this one is pretty good and as I had indicated, the press release is pretty good for a [...]

What Is Time? One Physicist Hunts for the Ultimate Theory
Sean Carroll is interviewed by Wired, on the subject of the arrow of time. He should write a book or something.
[W]hy was the entropy ever low to begin with? Why were the papers neatly stacked in the universe? Basically, our observable universe begins around 13.7 [...]

13-year-old helps save daylight saving in Utah
I know this is supposed to be an uplifting story of how clever a teenager is, in a sort of afterschool special kinda way, but I’m more cynical than that. I see it as a bunch of blowhard politicians happily debating something they do not understand, have made [...]

Most precise test yet of Einstein’s gravitational redshift
When the cesium atom matter wave enters the experiment, it encounters a carefully tuned flash of laser light. The laws of quantum mechanics step in, and each cesium atom enters two alternate realities, Müller said. In one, the laser has pushed the atom up one-tenth of a millimeter [...]

Starts With a Bang: A Brief History of Time… in the New World!
It was only about a week before people noticed that the Sun and Moon weren’t rising and setting at the times they were supposed to! Apparently, the clock was running at the wrong speed, and was running slow by somewhere around a [...]

The world’s most precise clock
We get this headline every six months or so. The experiment is cool, and drives down the precision to new levels, but I’ll give the standard disclaimer: it’s a frequency standard, not a clock.
The logic clock is based on a single aluminum ion (electrically charged atom) trapped [...]

Well do ya, punk?
Last week I noted that “I’m feeling Lucky” on Google gave you the countdown. Today it wishes you a happy new year.

Want to know how many seconds are left in the year (presumably according to your computer clock)? Go to Google and click the “I’m feeling lucky” button.

A brief history of calendars
Q: “Once in a blue moon” is a rare event. But what does “blue moon” really mean?
Don’t fall for the trendy answer.
This was the final question last week at Pub Trivia, and our team won the evening with the same answer to this question that almost everyone else gave, [...]

Scroll clock

Astronomical Clocks – Literally and Metaphorically
The term astronomical clock is one that is used fairly loosely. Effectively any clock that shows astronomical information – as well as the time – can be so classified. They can show the location of the sun in the sky, for example. In addition to that they [...]

I was supposed to give a talk on timekeeping this past weekend, but it got shot down (Mendozaaaa! Congress!), and I also see that Chad has posted slides on a talk he recently gave on the topic, entitled A Brief History of Timekeeping. That gives me a nudge to try and finish my [...]